Finchley

Finchley is a district of northwest London in the London Borough of Barnet, Greater London, England, located 6.8 miles north of Charing Cross. Finchley means "Finch's clearing" in Anglo-Saxon, and its name was first recorded in the late 13th century. It was sparsely populated woodland during the early Middle Ages, producing pigs and fuel for London. By the 15th and 16th centuries, the woodlands around Finchley had been cleared for common use, and the Great North Road was a prime target for highwaymen until the early 19th century. In 1965, Finchley was transferred from Middlesex to Greater London, and it became a residential suburb of London. In 2011, Finchley had a population of 65,812, and it had a significant Jewish minority; the Finchley and Golders Green parliamentary constituency is 20% Jewish. With the exception of 1997-2010, Finchley's parliamentary constituency was held by the Conservative Party from 1924 onward.